DE102021106926B4 - ENGINE ASSEMBLY WITH TRANSMISSION TO CHANGE THE COMPRESSION RATIO OF THE ENGINE ASSEMBLY USING A STATIONARY ACTUATOR - Google Patents

Abstract

An engine assembly (10) comprising: a crankshaft (18); a bell crank (20) pivotally mounted on the crankshaft (18), the bell crank (20) having a first end (32) and a second end opposite the first end (32). (34);a connecting rod (16) connected to the first end (32) of the bellcrank;a control shaft (22);a control link (24) mounted on the control shaft (22) and connected to the second end ( 34) of the bell crank (20);a first drive gear (38) fixed to the crankshaft (18);a carrier (40);a first planetary gear set (42) having a first sun gear fixed to the frame (62). (56), a first ring gear (58) meshing with the first drive gear (38), and a first planetary gear (60) rotatably mounted on the carrier (40) and connected to the first ring gear (58) and engaged with the first sun gear (56); an actuator (28); anda second planetary gear set (44) having a second sun gear (64) fixed to the actuator (28), a second ring gear coupled to the control shaft (22), and a second planet gear (68) rotatable on the Carrier (40) is mounted and meshes with the second ring gear and the second sun gear (64), the actuator (28) being operable to rotate the second sun gear (64) and thereby provide a ratio of a rotational speed of the crankshaft (18 ) to set a speed of the control shaft (22).

Description

INTRODUCTION

The present disclosure relates to engine assemblies having a transmission for varying the compression ratio of the engine assemblies using a stationary actuator.

In order to shed light on the technical background, please refer to the publications in advance DE 10 2008 059 870 A1 , DE 10 2005 047 203 A1 and DE 10 2013 010 753 A1 referred. So reveals the DE 10 2008 059 870 A1 various aspects of an engine assembly having a bellcrank mounted to the connecting rod, the crankshaft and a control link. Furthermore, a control shaft is shown which interacts with a drive gear via a first planetary gear set, in which case an actuator can also cooperate. Also the DE 10 2005 047 203 A1 discloses various aspects of an engine assembly having a bellcrank mounted to the connecting rod, the crankshaft and a control link. Also shown is a control shaft which interacts with a drive gear through first and second planetary gear sets, an actuator also being provided. Ultimately, the DE 10 2013 010 753 A1 a motor arrangement with a first and second planetary gear set, in which the planetary gears are connected to one another via a web and are controlled by an actuator.

A variable compression ratio (VCR) engine typically includes an engine block defining a cylinder, a piston disposed within the cylinder, a connecting rod, a crankshaft, a bell crank, a control member, a control shaft, and a transmission. The reversing lever is articulated on the crankshaft. The connecting rod connects the piston to one end of the bellcrank. The control member connects the other end of the bellcrank to the control shaft.

As the piston moves in the cylinder, the connecting rod applies torque to the bellcrank, and the control member transmits torque from the bellcrank to the control shaft, causing the control shaft to rotate. The gearbox transfers torque from the control shaft back to the crankshaft, ensuring that the rotation of the two shafts is in sync (or in phase). In addition, the gearbox couples an actuator, e.g. an electric motor, to the control shaft. The electric motor is operable to vary the speed of the control shaft relative to the speed of the crankshaft and thereby change the compression ratio of the cylinder.

The transmission of a VCR engine typically includes a drive gear attached to the crankshaft, an output gear attached to the control shaft, a first gear mounted on a transfer shaft (or carrier), and a second gear attached to the transfer shaft (or carrier). or gearbox. The first gear meshes with the drive gear and the second gear meshes with the driven gear. In addition, the electric motor of the VCR motor (or a shaft of the electric motor) is typically attached to the transmission shaft (or web) such that the electric motor rotates with the transmission shaft.

In VCR engines such as that described above, the electric motor can work against the full torque of the crankshaft to adjust the phasing of the control shaft relative to the crankshaft. Therefore, the electric motor may need to be large and output high torque, and an expensive high-ratio reduction gear may be required to couple the electric motor to the transmission shaft. In addition, the parasitic losses of such a VCR motor are high.

The invention is therefore based on the object of specifying a motor arrangement which ensures a reduction in such parasitic losses and enables the use of a relatively low-power electric motor.

SUMMARY

This object is achieved with a motor arrangement that is characterized by the features of claim 1.

In order to solve the above problems, a VCR motor according to the present disclosure includes a gearbox that allows the actuator to rotate independently of the transmission shaft (or spider). The transmission achieves this by providing a split power path - a power path from the crankshaft to the control shaft and another power path from the actuator to the control shaft. With this arrangement, the actuator only works against a fraction of the torque of the crankshaft. Thus, the actuator can be stationary and the actuator can be smaller than actuators typically used to adjust the compression ratio of a VCR engine. In addition, the parasitic losses can be much lower than a typical VCR motor. In addition, since the actuator is made stationary, more precise position control and more robust diagnosis can be enabled. In addition, the arrangement enables faster changes between the phase or phaser settings simplifies assembly and service and increases the service life of the gearbox by eliminating the need for a slip ring (brush) connection to the electric motor and avoiding fatigue in the gearbox.

A first example of an engine assembly according to the present disclosure includes a crankshaft, a bell crank, a connecting rod, a control shaft, a control member, a first input gear, a carrier, a first planetary gear set, an actuator, and a second planetary gear set. The reversing lever is articulated on the crankshaft. The bellcrank has a first end and a second end remote from the first end. The connecting rod is connected to the first end of the bellcrank. The control link is mounted on the control shaft and is connected to the second end of the bellcrank. The first drive gear is firmly connected to the crankshaft. The first planetary gear set includes a first sun gear fixed to the frame, a first ring gear meshing with the first input gear, and a first planet gear rotatably mounted on the carrier and meshing with the first ring gear and the first sun gear stands. The second planetary gear set includes a second sun gear fixed to the actuator, a second ring gear coupled to the control shaft, and a second planet gear rotatably mounted on the carrier and meshing with the second ring gear and the second sun gear. The actuator is operable to rotate the second sun gear and thereby adjust a ratio of a speed of the crankshaft to a speed of the control shaft.

In one example, the motor assembly also includes a transfer shaft attached to the second ring gear, a second input gear attached to the transfer shaft, and an output gear attached to the control shaft and meshing with the second input gear.

In one example, when the actuator is not rotating the second sun gear, a ratio of a rotational speed of the crankshaft to a rotational speed of the transfer shaft is one to one.

In one example, the motor assembly also includes an output gear fixed to the control shaft and meshing with the second ring gear.

In one example, when the actuator is not rotating the second sun gear, the ratio of a speed of the crankshaft to a speed of the carrier is one to one.

In one example, the actuator rotates independently of the bridge.

In one example, the second planetary gear is coaxial with the first planetary gear.

In one example, the first planetary gear has a first diameter and the second planetary gear has a second diameter equal to the first diameter.

In one example, the first ring gear has a first diameter and the second ring gear has a second diameter that is smaller than the first diameter.

A second exemplary engine assembly according to the present disclosure includes a crankshaft, a bell crank, a connecting rod, a control shaft, a control member, a first input gear, an actuator, and a planetary gear set. The bellcrank has a first end and a second end remote from the first end. The connecting rod is mounted on the crankshaft and is connected to the first end of the bellcrank. The control link is mounted on the control shaft and is connected to the second end of the bellcrank. The first drive gear is firmly connected to the crankshaft. The planetary gear set includes a sun gear fixed to the actuator, a ring gear meshing with the first input gear, a carrier fixed to the control shaft, a first plurality of planet gears rotatably mounted on the carrier and meshing with the sun gear, and a second A plurality of planetary gears rotatably mounted on the carrier and meshing with the first plurality of planetary gears and the ring gear. The actuator is operable to rotate the sun gear and thereby adjust a ratio of a speed of the crankshaft to a speed of the control shaft.

In one example, each gear of the second plurality of planetary gears meshes with a gear of the first plurality of planetary gears.

In one example, the first plurality of planetary gears are not engaged with the ring gear.

In one example, the second plurality of planetary gears are not in mesh with the sun gear.

In one example, when the actuator is not rotating the sun gear, the ratio of crankshaft speed to control shaft speed is two to one.

In one example, the actuator rotates independently of the bridge.

A third example of an engine assembly according to the present disclosure includes a crankshaft, a control shaft, a drive gear attached to the crankshaft, an actuator, and a planetary gear set. The planetary gear set includes a sun gear fixed to the actuator, a first ring gear meshing with the input gear, a carrier, a plurality of planet gears rotatably mounted on the carrier and meshing with the sun gear and the first ring gear , and a second ring gear fixed to the control shaft and meshing with the plurality of planetary gears. The actuator is operable to rotate the sun gear and thereby adjust a ratio of a speed of the crankshaft to a speed of the control shaft.

In one example, the second ring gear is not engaged with the input gear.

In one example, the first ring gear has a first number of teeth and the second ring gear has a second number of teeth that is greater than the first number of teeth.

In one example, the first ring gear has a first number of teeth and the second ring gear has a second number of teeth that is less than the first number of teeth.

In one example, the actuator rotates independently of the bridge.

Further areas of applicability of the present disclosure will become apparent from the detailed description, the claims, and the drawings. The detailed description and specific examples are intended for purposes of illustration only.

character list

• 1 ist eine Schnittansicht einer Motoranordnung mit einem ersten Beispiel eines Getriebes nach den Prinzipien der vorliegenden Offenbarung;
• 2 ist eine schematische Ansicht des ersten Beispiels eines Getriebes;
• 3 ist eine Schnittansicht einer Motoranordnung mit einem zweiten Beispiel eines Getriebes nach den Prinzipien der vorliegenden Offenbarung;
• 4 ist eine schematische Ansicht des zweiten Beispiels eines Getriebes;
• 5 ist eine Schnittdarstellung einer Motoranordnung mit einem dritten Beispiel eines Getriebes nach den Prinzipien der vorliegenden Offenbarung;
• 6 ist eine schematische Ansicht des dritten Beispiels eines Getriebes;
• 7 ist eine Draufsicht auf das dritte Beispiel eines Getriebes; und
• 8 ist eine Schnittdarstellung eines vierten Beispiels eines Getriebes nach den Prinzipien der vorliegenden Offenbarung.

The present disclosure will become more fully apparent from the detailed description and the accompanying drawings, wherein:

• 1 12 is a sectional view of an engine assembly with a first example of a transmission according to the principles of the present disclosure;
• 2 Fig. 12 is a schematic view of the first example of a transmission;
• 3 12 is a sectional view of an engine assembly with a second example of a transmission according to the principles of the present disclosure;
• 4 Fig. 12 is a schematic view of the second example of a transmission;
• 5 12 is a sectional view of an engine assembly with a third example of a transmission according to the principles of the present disclosure;
• 6 Fig. 12 is a schematic view of the third example of a transmission;
• 7 Fig. 12 is a plan view of the third example of a transmission; and
• 8th 12 is a sectional view of a fourth example of a transmission according to the principles of the present disclosure.

Reference numbers may again be used in the drawings to designate similar and/or identical elements.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

As in 1 and 2 As shown, an engine assembly 10 includes a cylinder 12, a piston 14, a connecting rod 16, a crankshaft 18, a bellcrank 20, a control shaft 22, a control member 24, a gearbox 26 and an actuator 28. The piston 14 moves within the cylinder 12 reciprocates when an air-fuel mixture is burned within the cylinder 12. For illustration is in 1 only one cylinder of engine assembly 10 is shown. However, the engine assembly 10 may include additional cylinders. The engine arrangement 10 can be an Otto engine or a compression ignition or diesel engine.

The deflection lever 20 is mounted on the crankshaft 18 in such a way that the deflection lever 20 can pivot about an axis of rotation 30 of the crankshaft 18 . The bellcrank 20 has a first end 32 and a second end 34 remote from the first end 32. The bellcrank 20 may have nodes or pins for connection to the crankshaft 18, connecting rod 16 and control link 24, the nodes or pins being T-shaped , triangular or arranged in series.

The connecting rod 16 connects the piston 14 to the first end 32 of the bellcrank 20. The connecting rod 16 may be pivotally connected to the piston 14 and the bellcrank 20, such as by means of pins (not shown). The control link 24 is mounted on the control shaft 22 such that the control link 24 can pivot about an axis of rotation 36 of the control shaft 22 . The control member 24 is connected to the second end 34 of the deflection lever 20 . The connecting rod 16 may be pivotally connected to the bellcrank 20, such as with a pin (not shown).

The connecting rod 16, the reversing lever 20 and the control member 24 together convert the translational movement of the piston 14 into a rota tion movement of the crankshaft 18 to. In other words, the connecting rod 16, the bellcrank 20 and the control link 24 cause the crankshaft 18 to rotate as the piston 14 reciprocates in the cylinder 12 . As the piston 14 reciprocates within the cylinder 12, the connecting rod 16 pivots about the first end 32 of the bellcrank 20 (eg, rocks back and forth). The pivotal movement of the connecting rod 16 causes the bellcrank 20 to pivot about the axis of rotation 30 of the crankshaft 18 (eg, seesaws back and forth). The pivoting movement of the deflection lever 20 causes the control member 24 to pivot (e.g. rocking back and forth) about the axis of rotation 36 of the control shaft 22.

The transmission 26 synchronizes the rotation of the crankshaft 18 with the rotation of the control shaft 22. In addition, the transmission 26 connects the actuator 28 to the control shaft 22 in a manner that allows the actuator 28 to control the speed of the control shaft 22 relative to the speed of the crankshaft 18 while the actuator 28 (or a body thereof) is stationary. Varying the speed of control shaft 22 relative to the speed of crankshaft 18 varies the stroke and top dead center (TDC) position of piston 14, thereby varying the compression ratio of engine assembly 10.

The transmission 26 includes a first input gear 38, a carrier 40, a first planetary gear set 42, a second planetary gear set 44, a rack shaft 46, an actuator shaft 48, a transmission shaft 50, a second input gear 52 and an output gear 54. The first input gear 38 is, for example fixed to the crankshaft 18 via a splined connection such that the first drive gear 38 rotates with the crankshaft 18 . The first and second planetary gear sets 42 and 44 may be symmetrical with respect to a line of symmetry passing through the actuator shaft 48 and/or the transfer shaft 50 . while in 2 Thus, while only one half of each of the first and second planetary gear sets 42 and 44 is shown, the other halves of the first and second planetary gear sets 42 and 44 may be identical to the halves shown.

The first planetary gear set 42 includes a first sun gear 56, a first ring gear 58, and one or more first planet gears 60. The first sun gear 56 is fixed (e.g., attached) to a frame 62 (e.g., to a housing of the transmission 26). The rack shaft 46 connects the first sun gear 56 to the rack 62. The first ring gear 58 meshes with the first drive gear 38. As shown in FIG. The first planet gears 60 are rotatably mounted on the web 40 . The first planetary gears 60 mesh with the first ring gear 58 and the first sun gear 56 . Each first planet gear 60 has a first diameter.

The second planetary gear set 44 includes a second sun gear 64, a second ring gear 66 and one or more second planetary gears 68. The second sun gear 64 is fixedly connected to the actuator 28. Actuator shaft 48 may connect a rotating component (e.g., a shaft) within actuator 28 to second sun gear 64 . Alternatively, the actuator shaft 48 may be the rotating component of the actuator 28 that is attached to the second sun gear 64 .

The second ring gear 66 is fixedly connected (e.g. splined) to the transmission shaft 50 . The second planetary gears 68 are rotatably mounted on the carrier 40 . Each second planetary gear 68 may be coaxial with one of the first planetary gears 60 . The second planetary gears 68 mesh with the second ring gear 66 and the second sun gear 64 . Each second planetary gear 68 has a second diameter equal to the first diameter of each first planetary gear 60 . The second drive gear 52 is fixed (e.g. geared) to the transmission shaft 50 . The output gear 54 is fixed (e.g. splined) to the control shaft 22 . The output gear 54 meshes with the second input gear 52 . Thus, the second ring gear 66 is coupled to the control shaft 22 via the transmission shaft 50, the second input gear 52 and the output gear 54.

When the crankshaft 18 rotates in a first direction (e.g., clockwise) 70, engagement between the first drive gear 38 and the first ring gear 58 causes the first ring gear 58 to rotate in a second direction (e.g., counterclockwise) 72. When the first ring gear 58 rotates in the second direction 72 , the coupling between the first ring gear 58 and the transfer shaft 50 causes the transfer shaft 50 to rotate in the second direction 72 about an axis of rotation 74 of the transfer shaft 50 . When the transfer shaft 50 rotates in the second direction 72, engagement between the second input gear 52 and the output gear 54 causes the output gear 54 to rotate in the first direction 70. FIG. Because the output gear 54 is fixedly connected to the control shaft 22, the control shaft 22 rotates in the first direction 70 with the output gear 54.

The actuator 28 is operable to rotate the second sun gear 64 and thereby adjust the ratio of the speed of the crankshaft 18 to the speed of the control shaft 22 . The actuator 28 may include a body or frame fixed (e.g., attached) to the frame 62, a shaft configured that it rotates relative to the body or frame, and an electric motor (eg a brushless DC motor) capable of rotating the shaft.

The actuator 28 (or the shaft of the actuator 28) rotates independently of the web 40 and other components of the transmission 26. In other words, the entire actuator 28 does not rotate with the web 40, and the web 40 does not drive the rotation of the actuator 28 (or the shaft of the actuator 28). Rather, the body or frame of the actuator 28 is stationary (e.g., fixed relative to the frame 62), and the electric motor of the actuator 28 rotates the shaft of the actuator 28 independently of the rotation of the web 40.

The actuator 28 may also include a control module, a cycloidal drive, and/or a position sensor. The control module controls the electric motor to adjust the speed and/or direction of the actuator shaft and thereby adjust the compression ratio of the engine assembly 10 based on engine operating conditions. The cycloidal drive couples the electric motor to the actuator shaft. The position sensor measures the position of the actuator shaft and outputs the position of the actuator shaft to the control module. The control module may determine the speed and/or direction of the actuator shaft based on the position of the actuator shaft and use the determined speed/direction to perform a closed loop speed/direction control of the actuator shaft.

The transmission 26 transmits power (and torque) from the crankshaft 18 to the control shaft 22 and from the control shaft 22 to the crankshaft 18 via a first path. The first path is through the first input gear 38, the first ring gear 58, the first planet gears 60, the carrier 40, the second planet gears 68, the second ring gear 66, the second input gear 52 and the output gear 54. The transmission 26 also transmits power ( and torque) from the actuator 28 to the control shaft 22 via a second path. The second path runs through the second sun gear 64, the second planet gear 68, the second ring gear 66, the second input gear 52 and the output gear 54. As a result, parts of the first and second paths overlap.

The actuator 28 may reduce the speed of the control shaft 22 relative to the speed of the crankshaft 18 by rotating the actuator shaft 48 and second sun gear 64 in the same direction as the crankshaft 18 (e.g., the first direction 70). A reduction in speed of control shaft 22 relative to speed of crankshaft 18 may be referred to as a negative phase shift. The actuator 28 may increase the speed of the control shaft 22 relative to the speed of the crankshaft 18 by rotating the actuator shaft 48 and second sun gear 64 in an opposite direction to the crankshaft 18 (e.g., the second direction 72). An increase in the speed of control shaft 22 relative to the speed of crankshaft 18 may be referred to as a positive phase shift. When the actuator 28 is not rotating the second sun gear 64, the ratio between the speed of the crankshaft 18 and the speed of the transfer shaft 50 is 1:1.

In 3 and 4 1, the engine assembly 10 is shown with a transmission 76 in place of the transmission 26. FIG. The transmission 76 is similar or identical to the transmission 26, except that the transmission 76 includes a second planetary gear set 78 in place of the second planetary gear set 44, and the transmission 76 does not include the transfer shaft 50 or the second input gear 52. The second planetary gear set 78 may be symmetrical with respect to a line of symmetry passing through actuator shaft 48 . while in 4 ie only one half of the second planetary gear set 78 is shown, the other half of the second planetary gear set 78 can thus be identical to the half shown.

The second planetary gear set 78 includes a second sun gear 80, a second ring gear 82 and one or more second planetary gears 84. The second sun gear 80 is fixedly connected to the actuator 28. Actuator shaft 48 may connect a rotating component (e.g., a shaft) within actuator 28 to second sun gear 80 . Alternatively, actuator shaft 48 may be the rotating component of actuator 28 that is attached to second sun gear 80 .

The second planetary gears 84 are rotatably mounted on the carrier 40 . Each second planetary gear 84 may be coaxial with one of the first planetary gears 60 . The second planetary gears 84 mesh with the second ring gear 82 and the second sun gear 80 . Each second planetary gear 84 has a second diameter that is smaller than the first diameter of each first planetary gear 60. The second ring gear 82 meshes with the output gear 54 which is fixed to the control shaft 22 as described above. The second ring gear 82 is therefore only coupled to the control shaft 22 via the output gear 54 . Since the second ring gear 82 meshes directly with the output gear 54, the transfer shaft 50 and the second drive gear 52 can be eliminated, which reduces the complexity of the transmission 76 and reduces the space requirement of the transmission 76.

When the crankshaft 18 rotates in the first direction 70, the engagement between the first drive gear 38 and the first ring gear 58 such that the first ring gear 58 rotates in the second direction 72 . When the first ring gear 58 rotates in the second direction 72 , the coupling between the first ring gear 58 and the second ring gear 82 causes the second ring gear 82 to rotate in the second direction 72 about an axis of rotation 86 . When the second ring gear 82 rotates in the second direction 72 , engagement between the second ring gear 82 and the output gear 54 causes the output gear 54 to rotate in the first direction 70 . Because the output gear 54 is fixedly connected to the control shaft 22, the control shaft 22 rotates in the first direction 70 with the output gear 54.

The transmission 26 transmits power (and torque) from the crankshaft 18 to the control shaft 22 and from the control shaft 22 to the crankshaft 18 via a first path. The first path is through the first input gear 38, the first ring gear 58, the first planet gears 60, the carrier 40, the second planet gears 84, the second ring gear 82 and the output gear 54. The transmission 26 also transmits power (and torque) from the actuator 28 to the control shaft 22 via a second path. The second path runs through the second sun gear 80, the second planet gear 84, the second ring gear 82 and the output gear 54. As a result, parts of the first and second path runs overlap.

The actuator 28 (or the shaft of the actuator 28) rotates independently of the web 40 and other components of the gear 76. In other words, the entire actuator 28 does not rotate with the web 40, and the web 40 does not drive the rotation of the actuator 28 (or the shaft of the actuator 28). Rather, the body or frame of the actuator 28 is stationary (e.g., fixed relative to the frame 62), and the electric motor of the actuator 28 rotates the shaft of the actuator 28 independently of the rotation of the web 40.

The actuator 28 is operable to rotate the second sun gear 80 and thereby adjust the ratio of the speed of the crankshaft 18 to the speed of the control shaft 22 . The actuator 28 may reduce the speed of the control shaft 22 relative to the speed of the crankshaft 18 by rotating the actuator shaft 48 and second sun gear 80 in the same direction as the crankshaft 18 (e.g., the first direction 70). The actuator 28 may increase the speed of the control shaft 22 relative to the speed of the crankshaft 18 by rotating the actuator shaft 48 and second sun gear 80 in an opposite direction to the crankshaft 18 (e.g., the second direction 72). When the actuator 28 is not rotating the second sun gear 80, the ratio between the speed of the crankshaft 18 and the speed of the carrier 40 is 1:1.

In 5 until 7 1, the engine assembly 10 is shown with a transmission 88 in place of the transmission 76. FIG. The transmission 88 consists of a compound planetary gear set 90 and a carrier 92. The planetary gear set 90 may be symmetrical with respect to a line of symmetry passing through the actuator shaft 48. While 6 So only one half of the planetary gear set 90 shows the other half of the planetary gear set 90 can be identical to the half shown.

The planetary gear set 90 includes a sun gear 94, a ring gear 96, a plurality of first planetary gears 98 and a plurality of second planetary gears 100. The sun gear 94 is fixed to the actuator 28 connected. Actuator shaft 48 may connect a rotating component (e.g., a shaft) within actuator 28 to sun gear 94 . Alternatively, actuator shaft 48 may be the rotating component of actuator 28 that is attached to sun gear 94 . Ring gear 96 meshes with first drive gear 38 .

The first and second planetary gears 98 and 100 are rotatably mounted on the carrier 92 . The first planetary gears 98 mesh with the sun gear 94 but do not mesh with the ring gear 96 . Each first planet gear 98 has a first diameter. The second planetary gears 100 mesh with the ring gear 96 but do not mesh with the sun gear 94 . In addition, each second planetary gear 100 meshes with one of the first planetary gears 98 . Each second planetary gear 100 has a second diameter that may be the same as or different than the first diameter of each first planetary gear 98 .

The web 92 is fixedly connected to the control shaft 22 and couples the first and second planetary gears 98 and 100 to the control shaft 22. When the crankshaft 18 rotates in the first direction 70, engagement between the first drive gear 38 and the ring gear 96 causes, that the ring gear 96 rotates in the second direction 72 . When the ring gear 96 rotates in the second direction 72, the coupling between the ring gear 96 and the control shaft 22 causes the control shaft 22 to rotate about the axis of rotation 36 in the first direction.

The transmission 88 transfers power (and torque) from the crankshaft 18 to the control shaft 22 via a first path. The first path is through the first input gear 38, the ring gear 96, the first and second planetary gears 98 and 100, and the carrier 92. The Transmission 26 also transmits power (and torque) from actuator 28 the control shaft 22 via a second path. The second path runs through the sun gear 94, the first and second planet gears 98 and 100 and the carrier 92. As a result, portions of the first and second path runs overlap.

The actuator 28 is operable to rotate the sun gear 94 and thereby adjust the ratio of the speed of the crankshaft 18 to the speed of the control shaft 22 . The actuator 28 may decrease the speed of the control shaft 22 relative to the speed of the crankshaft 18 by rotating the actuator shaft 48 and sun gear 94 in the same direction as the crankshaft 18 (e.g., the first direction 70). The actuator 28 may increase the speed of the control shaft 22 relative to the speed of the crankshaft 18 by rotating the actuator shaft 48 and sun gear 94 in a direction opposite to the crankshaft 18 (e.g., the second direction 72).

When the actuator 28 is not rotating the sun gear 94, the ratio between the speed of the crankshaft 18 and the speed of the control shaft 22 is 2:1. In this manner, the transmission 88 can be configured to achieve piston motion consistent with the Atkinson cycle. For example, transmission 88 may be configured such that the exhaust stroke of piston 14 is longer than the intake stroke of piston 14 and the expansion stroke of piston 14 is longer than the compression stroke of piston 14 . In return, the efficiency of the engine assembly 10 can be increased.

As in 8th As shown, the engine assembly 10 may include a transmission 102 in lieu of any of the other transmissions described herein. The transmission 102 includes a planetary gear set 104, a second ring gear 106 and a connecting bracket 108. The planetary gear set 104 couples the first input gear 38 and the actuator shaft 48 (or the actuator shaft 48) to the second ring gear 106. The connecting bracket 108 connects the second ring gear 106 to the control shaft 22.

The planetary gear set 104 includes a sun gear 110, a first ring gear 112, a plurality of planet gears 114 and a web 115. The sun gear 110 is fixed to the actuator 28 connected. Actuator shaft 48 may connect a rotating component (e.g., a shaft) within actuator 28 to sun gear 110 . Alternatively, actuator shaft 48 may be the rotating component of actuator 28 that is attached to sun gear 110 . The planetary gears 114 are rotatably mounted on the carrier 115 . The planetary gears 114 mesh with the first ring gear 112 and the sun gear 110 . Carrier 115 is a floating bar because bar 115 is not rigidly connected to control shaft 22 or to second ring gear 106 (i.e., the output gear). Therefore, the reaction torque of the control shaft 22 and the second ring gear 106 cannot drive the actuator 28 back.

The transmission 102 transfers power (and torque) from the crankshaft 18 to the control shaft 22 via a first path. The first path is through the first drive gear 38, the first ring gear 112, the planetary gears 114, the second ring gear 106 and the connecting bracket 108. The transmission 102 also transfers power (and torque) from the actuator 28 to the control shaft 22 via a second path. The second path runs through the sun gear 110, the planet gears 114, the second ring gear 106 and the connecting bracket 108. As a result, portions of the first and second path runs overlap.

The actuator 28 (or the shaft of the actuator 28) rotates independently of the web 115 and other components of the transmission 102. In other words, the entire actuator 28 does not rotate with the web 115, and the web 115 does not drive the rotation of the actuator 28 (or the shaft of the actuator 28). Rather, the body or frame of the actuator 28 is stationary and the electric motor of the actuator 28 rotates the shaft of the actuator 28 independently of the rotation of the web 40.

The actuator 28 is operable to rotate the sun gear 110 and thereby adjust the ratio of the speed of the crankshaft 18 to the speed of the control shaft 22 . The actuator 28 may decrease the speed of the control shaft 22 relative to the speed of the crankshaft 18 by rotating the actuator shaft 48 and sun gear 110 in the same direction as the crankshaft 18 (e.g., the first direction 70). The actuator 28 may increase the speed of the control shaft 22 relative to the speed of the crankshaft 18 by rotating the actuator shaft 48 and sun gear 110 in a direction opposite to the crankshaft 18 (e.g., the second direction 72).

The first ring gear 112 has a first number of teeth 116 which mesh with the planetary gears 114 . The second ring gear 106 has a second number of teeth 118 which mesh with the planetary gears 114 . The second number may be greater (e.g., one more) or smaller (e.g., one less) than the first number, depending on the desired direction of rotation of control shaft 22 relative to crankshaft 18 and the desired functionality of transmission 102. If the second number of teeth is 118 is greater or less than the first number of teeth 116, the ratio of the rotational speed of the crankshaft 18 to the rotational speed of the control shaft 22 can be very large or very small, respectively. For example, if the first number of teeth 116 is 69 and the second number of teeth 118 is 70, the ratio of the rotational speed of the crankshaft 18 to the rotational speed of the control shaft 22 may be 69:1.

In various implementations, the connecting bracket 108 and the web 115 may be combined into a single web. Additionally or alternatively, planetary gear set 104 may be a compound planetary gear set that includes both planet gears 114 and a plurality of other planet gears (not shown) rotatably mounted on carrier 115 . In such implementations, the planet gears 114 may mesh with the sun gear 110 but not mesh with the first or second ring gears 112 or 106 and the other planet gears may mesh with the first and second ring gears 112 and 106 but not mesh with the sun gear 110. Alternatively, the planetary gears 114 may mesh with the first and second ring gears 112 and 106 and not mesh with the sun gear 110, and the other planetary gears may mesh with the sun gear 110 and not with the first or second ring gears 112 or 106 to be engaged. In this connection, the arrangement of two ring gears with different numbers of teeth can be used in conjunction with a transmission containing a compound planetary gear set, such as the transmission 88 in 5 until 7 .

The foregoing description is for illustrative purposes only. The broad teachings of the disclosure can be implemented in a variety of forms. It is understood that one or more steps within a method may be performed in different orders (or simultaneously) without altering the principles of the present disclosure. Although each of the embodiments is described above with particular features, any one or more of those features described in relation to any embodiment of the disclosure may be implemented in any of the other embodiments and/or combined with features of another embodiment, albeit this combination is not explicitly described. In other words, the described embodiments are not mutually exclusive, and permutations of one or more embodiments with one another remain within the scope of this disclosure.

Spatial and functional relationships between elements (e.g. between modules, circuit elements, semiconductor layers, etc.) are described using different terms, e.g. "connected", "engaged", "coupled", "adjacent", "next to", "on", " above, below, and arranged. When a relationship between a first and second element is not expressly described as "direct" in the disclosure above, that relationship may be a direct relationship in which no other intervening elements are present between the first and second element, but it may be can also be an indirect relationship in which one or more intervening elements (either spatially or functionally) are present between the first and second elements. As used herein, the phrase "at least one of A, B, and C" should be construed as logical (A OR B OR C) using a nonexclusive logical OR, and not "at least one of A, at least one of B, and at least one be understood by C”.

In the figures, the direction of an arrow, as indicated by the arrowhead, generally indicates the flow of information (e.g., data or instructions) of interest to the presentation. For example, if element A and element B exchange a lot of information, but the information transmitted from element A to element B is relevant to the presentation, the arrow can point from element A to element B. This unidirectional arrow does not imply that no further information is transmitted from element B to element A. In addition, element B may send requests for or acknowledgments of receipt of the information to element A for information sent from element A to element B.

In this application, including the definitions below, the term "module" or the term "controller" may be replaced by the term "circuitry." The term "module" may refer to, be part of, or include a module: an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC); a digital, analog, or mixed analog/digital discrete circuit; a digital, analog, or mixed analog/digital integrated circuit; a combinational logic circuit; a field programmable gate array (FPGA); a processor circuit (shared, dedicated, or group) that executes code; a memory circuit (shared, dedicated or group) that stores the code executed by the processor circuit; other suitable hardware components that provide the described functionality; or a combination of some or all of the above, e.g. in a Systemon chip.

The module may contain one or more interface circuits. In some examples, the interface circuitry may include wired or wireless interfaces that connect to a local area network (LAN), the Internet, a wide area network (WAN), or combinations thereof. The functionality of any Modules of the present disclosure may be distributed across multiple modules that are connected via interface circuits. For example, multiple modules can enable load balancing. In another example, a server module (also referred to as a remote or cloud module) may perform some functions on behalf of a client module.

The term code, as used above, can include software, firmware, and/or microcode and can refer to programs, routines, functions, classes, data structures, and/or objects. The term "shared processor circuit" encompasses a single processor circuit that executes some or all code from multiple modules. The term cluster processor circuit encompasses a processor circuit that, in combination with other processor circuits, executes some or all code from one or more modules. References to multiple processor circuits include multiple processor circuits on discrete chips, multiple processor circuits on a single chip, multiple cores of a single processor circuit, multiple threads of a single processor circuit, or a combination of the above. The term "shared memory circuit" encompasses a single memory circuit that stores some or all code from multiple modules. The term "group memory circuit" encompasses a memory circuit that, in combination with other memories, stores some or all code from one or more modules.

The term "memory circuit" is a subset of the term "computer-readable medium." The term "computer-readable medium" as used herein does not include transient electrical or electromagnetic signals propagating through a medium (e.g., on a carrier wave); the term "computer-readable medium" can therefore be considered tangible/tangible and non-transitory. Non-limiting examples of a non-transitory, tangible, computer-readable medium include non-volatile memory circuits (e.g., a flash memory circuit, an erasable programmable read-only memory circuit, or a mask read-only memory circuit), volatile memory circuits (e.g., a static random access memory circuit or a dynamic random access memory circuit), magnetic storage media (e.g. an analog or digital magnetic tape or a hard disk drive) and optical storage media (e.g. a CD, a DVD or a Blu-ray Disc).

The apparatus and methods described in this application may be implemented in part or in whole by a special purpose computer formed by configuring a general purpose computer to perform one or more specific functions embodied in computer programs. The functional blocks, flowchart components, and other elements described above serve as software specifications that can be translated into the computer programs through the routine work of a skilled technician or programmer.

The computer programs include processor-executable instructions stored on at least one non-transitory, tangible, computer-readable medium. The computer programs can also contain or access stored data. The computer programs may include a basic input/output system (BIOS) that interacts with the special purpose computer's hardware, device drivers that interact with particular special purpose computer devices, one or more operating systems, user applications, background services, background applications, etc.

The computer programs may contain: (i) descriptive text to be parsed, e.g. HTML (Hypertext Markup Language), XML (Extensible Markup Language) or JSON (JavaScript Object Notation) (ii) assembly code, (iii) by a compiler object code generated from the source code, (iv) source code for execution by an interpreter, (v) source code for compilation and execution by a just-in-time compiler, etc. As examples only: the source code can use the syntax of languages such as C, C++, C#, Objective-C, Swift, Haskell, Go, SQL, R, Lisp, Java®, Fortran, Perl, Pascal, Curl, OCaml, Javascript®, HTML5 (Hypertext Markup Language 5th revision), Ada, ASP (Active Server Pages), PHP (PHP: Hypertext Preprocessor), Scala, Eiffel, Smalltalk, Erlang, Ruby, Flash®, Visual Basic®, Lua, MATLAB, SIMULINK and Python®.

Claims (9)

An engine assembly (10) comprising: a crankshaft (18); a bellcrank (20) pivotally mounted on the crankshaft (18), the bellcrank (20) having a first end (32) and a second end (34) opposite the first end (32); a connecting rod (16) connected to the first end (32) of the bellcrank; a control shaft (22); a control link (24) mounted on the control shaft (22) and connected to the second end (34) of the bellcrank (20); a first drive gear (38) fixed to the crankshaft (18); a web (40); a first planetary gear set (42) having a first sun gear (56) fixed to the frame (62), a first ring gear (58) meshing with the first input gear (38), and a first planet gear (60) rotatable mounted on the carrier (40) and meshing with the first ring gear (58) and the first sun gear (56); an actuator (28); and a second planetary gear set (44) having a second sun gear (64) fixed to the actuator (28), a second ring gear coupled to the control shaft (22), and a second planetary gear (68) rotatable on mounted on the carrier (40) and meshing with the second ring gear and the second sun gear (64), the actuator (28) being operable to rotate the second sun gear (64) and thereby provide a ratio of a rotational speed of the crankshaft ( 18) to set a speed of the control shaft (22). Motor arrangement (10) after claim 1 , further comprising a transfer shaft (50) fixed to the second ring gear, a second input gear (52) fixed to the transfer shaft (50), and an output gear (54) fixed to the control shaft (22). and meshing with the second drive gear (52). Motor arrangement (10) after claim 2 , wherein when the actuator (28) does not rotate the second sun gear (64), a ratio of a rotational speed of the crankshaft (18) to a rotational speed of the transmission shaft (50) is one to one. Motor arrangement (10) after claim 1 , further comprising an output gear (54) which is fixed to the control shaft (22) and meshes with the second ring gear. Motor arrangement (10) after claim 4 wherein when the actuator (28) is not rotating the second sun gear (64), a ratio of a rotational speed of the crankshaft (18) to a rotational speed of the carrier (40) is one to one. Motor arrangement (10) after claim 1 , wherein the actuator (28) rotates independently of the web (40). Motor arrangement (10) after claim 1 , wherein the second planetary gear (68) is coaxial with the first planetary gear (60). Motor arrangement (10) after claim 1 , wherein the first planetary gear (60) has a first diameter and the second planetary gear (68) has a second diameter equal to the first diameter. Motor arrangement (10) after claim 1 , wherein the first ring gear (58) has a first diameter and the second ring gear has a second diameter that is smaller than the first diameter.

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